Cursed Heart
by JosephineSilver
Summary: AU. Sequel to 'Cursed Blood.' Percy's hometown has fallen. His family and friends - his pack - disbanded and dispersed among the land. Thalia is recovering from torture. Jason is conflicted about his new nature and loyalties. Annabeth finds herself questioning every law she's ever obeyed as she falls for someone forbidden. The stakes are higher than ever. Failure isn't an option.
1. Chapter 1

Holy mother of god, I AM AN AWFUL HUMAN BEING. This is being posted so much later than I promised - at first it was because the site was being a douche and not letting me log in, but then it was mostly about me being lazy. I am the QUEEN of procrastination.

But it is here now! Do not fear! I love you all and hope you enjoy this somewhat short and crappy prologue!

For those of you newbs who just clicked the link on the pjo archive cause it sounded interesting, you MUST go to my profile and click on 'Cursed Blood.' This is the sequel to that and this series has to be read in order to make sense.

Also, I am now on AO3 under the name JosephineSilver, and Mortal Instruments fans should head on over and check out my fic 'The City is at War.'

On with the chapter!

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**Prologue: _Foreshadowing_**

**_•_**

_Three-thousand years from the current day, the highest mountain peak in the land of the Gods_.

'

_"I am not here, you see me not; I am but air, made purely of light. You see me not, I am not here; I am dust and shadows, born as one with the night_."

The voice was low and rich as it chanted its way through a charm of invisibility, multiple timbres layered upon one another.

"Lupa," this second voice interrupted the Wolf Goddesses ritual; sweet and low. "What are you doing, child?"

Del had hidden herself well within the most shadowed nook of the God cave, called such because it was supposedly where the gods and goddesses of the Olympic religion came to receive prayer and worship. The young and naive mountain raised village girl could not see any of the people in the cavern around the corner from her, but she could hear them talking as clearly as if they were whispering into her ears, and the shadows cast by them and the flickering green fire they had was terrifying, to say the least.

"Athene," the irate reply of the first voice - the layered, duplicated one, now stripped down to a single, lone speaker; female and deceptively sweet. "Is it not obvious?"

_"Aerl brgh_," the second voice - _Athene_ \- spat out in a language that was both guttural and liquid at the same time. "_Cnaed ithrl; trhba ierae frl_."

Lupa snorted inelegantly. "I care not of what our so called '_King_' orders. I am the mother of all things wild and _free_, and my domain and subjects are called Legion, their numbers are so high. My wolves -"

"- Are forbidden," Athene cut in, switching back to the regular Grecian tongue of the region. "My father fears their power. Already he has slaughtered the ones you have created. Curse more and he shall cast you from Olympus."

Lupa's breathing grew ragged and uneven. "He _killed_ my children?" She hissed. _"Nr kailoch_?"

Athene was silent for a moment. "I _am_ sorry," she finally murmured. "But I do believe that what my father did is wise. It is best not only for us, but for the humans we gain worship from. Their faith is all that keeps is strong, and if they continue to be slaughtered by your Wolf shifters, they will cease to believe in us, and we will all Fade."

Lupa snarled, "You will not fade, Athene," she hissed out. "I will not _allow_ your end to be so painless and so quick, not after what you have done to me." Her voice rose to a shout. "Your father makes no decisions without your consent, he places far too much trust in your so called wisdom -_ you pushed_ him towards this, I know you did, you have always _hated_ me after all -"

"_Please_, Lupa!" Athene sounded genuinely distraught at the accusations being thrown her way to Del, who was cowering, pressing harder into the rough and cold stone of the cavern wall behind her. "I would _never_ -"

_"Dm mkf itael_!" Lupa bellowed. "You must meddle everywhere, no? You were jealous, admit it! You hated the fact that I had children, that I was a mother - precious, pristine and _innocent_ Athene, the eternal virgin - you cannot have children so you sought to destroy mine."

The strange green firelight flickered, disappearing momentarily.

Everything turned black.

When Del could see again, something felt off about the muted glow of the light. Something felt - _bad_.

"Well, you _will_ have a child, Athene," Lupa murmured. "This is my promise to you, in the unbreakable name of Styx. When my children have spread their 'plague' over our home country and the gods start to Fade - you will not join them. You will Fall into the wretched grasp of mortality, and then my most favoured child will bring your progeny nothing but blood and misery. _Uir xqae nf_."

The glowing light, until that moment muted and dull, flared up.

Athene screamed. "You will be punished for this," she panted. "Already I can see the signs in your eyes. You have Fallen, Lupa."

Del couldn't see the grin, hidden as she was, but she could hear it. "Then I suppose all is going to plan, no?"

The light flared, even brighter than before - hotter too, like Apollo had just joined the party - and Del knew she was going to die.

_For when a mortal looks upon a gods true form with the naked eye, the mere sight overwhelms both their soul and body, and they are consigned eternally to Tartarus_.

-X-

_Two-thousand years from the current day, the throne room of the gods, Olympus_

'

"Has there been any word?" Zeus' voice was grave and deep.

"None, my liege," Hermes said from his prostrate position on the floor at the foot of the Kings of the gods throne. "Lupa has gone completely silent. No riots in her name. No massacres. No more of her wolven creations running around, spreading fear and terror. It is almost as if she has ceased to exist."

The woman standing beside Zeus - dark hair and grey eyes, his most favoured daughter, Athene the wise - frowned in concern. "Keep searching," she commanded. "In fact, get Ares on her trail. See if his unquenchable blood thirst lends him aid in sniffing her out."

-X-

_Seven-and-a-half centuries from the current day, the woods outside of the Athens citadel, Olympia_

'

Lupa smiled.

_It has begun, oh so wise Athene, she thought. My children will rise, and as they do so, both the gods and Olympus shall fall._

_And such is my revenge_.

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I really hope this didn't confuse anyone too badly. I apologise if it did.


	2. PLEASE READ AND HEAR WHAT I'M SAYING!

Well. Hi.

WAIT GUYS DON'T SCREAM AT ME. Not just yet, 'kay? Allow me to explain myself before you let loose with the pitchforks and the flames.

Normally when I've been gone a long time (and I've never been gone as long as this) I've said sorry. I have apoligised for my absence. Well, this time, no apologies.

Because I'm _not_ sorry. I, believe it or not, have a real life outside of not only the internet, but fanfiction. I am a sixteen year old girl in college (granted I turn seventeen on the first of September) and it is really hard on me. I'm not sure how many times I've stressed this fact but I'm getting tired of repeating it.

I am not going to make any other excuses to you. I've been busy, and that is all you need to know. But I am _not _dead, and I most certainly have not abandoned my stories.

While on this note - guys. I've been absent from this site not even six months. I have Fics on my faves list that are lucky to be updated once every three years. With the speed in which I finished Cursed Blood I think I deserved a bit of a break.

Most of you have been incredibly understanding of this fact in your reviews and PMs. (Special thanks to Gray Del on this account.)

But there are some who hurt me greatly and contributed, if only slightly, to the length of my leave of absence.

You guys _know_ who you are. You want to know why I didn't post a hiatus? Because the story _wasn't on a freaking hiatus_. You hate writers like me? Well, I hate readers like _you_, who can't see beyond themselves and think I exist for the sole purpose of catering to their fanfiction needs. Readers like you are worse than plagerizers (which, you may recall, I can say with certainty as I have personal experience with it) because you act like you have a right to demand to write faster, to post more often; basically to put my entire life in hold for _you_. And I'm stupidly empathetic enough to actually do it, and yet I still get these messages.

I do not mean to hurt or offend anyone with my words. I love all of my readers and reviewers and I hold rom in the belief that you are the best support group I could ever have. The vast majority of you understand because you get this too and I am grateful.

The next chapter will be up sometime tomorrow, just btw. This note will not be deleted, however.

Okay. I AM READY. BRING ON THE PITCHFORKS AND THE BURNING OF ME AT THE STAKE.


	3. Chapter 2

**_So...hi. Here is the next chapter, just as I promised. You may recognize it - it is an edited version of the last chapter of Cursed Blood, which was deleted because I didn't like it XD_**

**_It may take me a while to get back into this fic...I have about ten chapters that were roughly written and outlined saved onto my documents from about six months ago and it shames me to admit I lost inspiration for fanfiction for a while._**

**_I just want to say thank you for all of your support, and while I'm not going to promise daily chapters or even weekly ones, I'm going to try to post more often than I have been._**

**_Lucio BetaBlake - your review on 'chapter' two made me laugh so hard. I swear I've said I was a girl before, though...how many others of you were confused over my gender? Did you think I was a girl or boy?_**

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**Chapter One: _Hikari no Moto Yami wa Umare*_**

•

_Meridie leant down curiously over the crib. "Away," snarled a dark voice at the girl. She jerked away out of impulse, ducking her head down and tucking her chin against her chest._

_A hand placed itself lightly, gently, on the small of Meridie's back._

_"Let her alone," Sally Jackson's voice, usually so soft, was sheathed in ice cold steel. "She is just curious."_

_Lord Hades, a royal from a land far away, a land that had long held treatise with the Lupi, glared at the two young women with eyes that were as scalding as fire and dark as night._

_"You have a good chance at Luna, Miss Jackson," he growled at the paler of the girls. "So long as your submissives learn their place."_

_He walked out of the house._

_Meridie sank down to her knees by Percy's cot, her stomach weak and shaky. "Why was he here, Sal?" She whispered._

_Sally's eyes were only for her newborn infant son - her little miracle baby. "He wanted to confirm something."_

_Meridie was confused. "What?"_

_"The fate of his son."_

-X-

[THREE DAYS AFTER PERCY &amp; ANNABETH'S ARRIVAL AT THE END OF THE RANGE]

Annabeth clenched her hands into fists at her sides.

She felt Reyna's gaze on her as she trembled against the wall of the room but refused to answer the question that was obvious within it. She was too focused on Percy to bother with his sister.

Percy leant over the sole bed in the room - or more accurately, the occupant of that bed; his brother.

Triton, the crown prince of Atlantis.

Percy's _brother_.

It had been three days since the duo had met Delphin, lieutenant of Poseidon in the inn downstairs, and discovered the truth.

Percy had taken it, surprisingly, in stride. News of his father's identity had apparently not concerned him at all.

Annabeth, on the other hand, felt like she had been unable to breathe for the past three days. She knew, objectively, that this did _not_ change who Percy was - and also, he was little more than an illegitimate love child that would never have any sort of claim on the throne (and therefore was not really royalty) but staring at him now, as he stood next to Delphin and frowned worriedly over his brother's worsening condition, his lineage hit home.

He and his brother looked so alike. And with that concern on his face - with the hopeful way Delphin kept glancing at him and deferring to his admittedly greater expertise in the area of those that turn from Lupi bites...

...they looked like a _family_. Like Percy could really belong there regardless of the fact that he was both a bastard and a wolf.

And, considering that Annabeth was inherently Athenian, _Olympian_ \- and that Atlantis was a country they were perpetually at odds with - it _hurt_. It hurt more than she wanted to admit that Percy and her were bound as enemies by rite of their very blood.

Reyna's hand came down onto the shoulder of her uninjured arm. "Hey," she said kindly. "You look like you're in pain. Are you thinking deep thoughts, or is your arm bothering you again?"

Annabeth hadn't even noticed Reyna approaching, but over the past three days she had grown to trust the girl and managed to restrain her instincts to whip out a knife. "I'm fine," she smiled at Reyna, raising her hand to clench around her broken arm. "Since I've gotten some proper food and rest it feels a lot better." Annabeth's healing speed was nowhere near the inhuman rejuvenation of Lupi cells, but for some reason she had always recovered faster than the average human. Her arm would be completely healed within the week, and once it was (and she was therefore able to protect herself properly once again) she and Percy were heading to Athens, traveling using rough back roads known only to Lupi and criminals, so as to avoid being discovered by people who were on this mad princess hunt Reyna had informed them her parents had set up. Her newly black hair wasn't a good enough disguise to protect them so much that they could travel plainly through towns and cities. After all, the colour was so flat it was obviously fake, and already blonde regrowth was starting to show on the strands on the power layers.

Reyna had thankfully manage to fix her roughly hacked away hair into a serviceable pixie hairstyle, but Annabeth was vain enough to miss and mourn the loss of her princess curls, even as she understood the necessity of the disguise.

"What's this?" Percy's voice drew her attention back over to the bed. For a minute, Annabeth was concerned, sure Percy had discovered something new wrong with Triton. But no, his eyes were focused solely on her, and they held a reading light. "Wise Girl is getting lost in her thoughts? _Again_?"

The nickname had randomly appeared the day before. Annabeth wasn't sure where Percy had pulled it from, but no arguments she had made so far had discouraged him, so apparently it was sticking.

"How is he doing?" Annabeth nodded at Triton, hoping to take attention off of her.

Percy's face immediately became drawn and tired. "It won't be long now." His voice was low. "I wouldn't be surprised if he makes his first shift tonight."

As if the words were a trigger, Triton suddenly jolted on the bed, and all in the room froze as his eyes slowly opened.

_They glew wolven gold._

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**_Shorter than I would have liked, but better than nothing. It may seem a bit confusing - especially after the prologue - but it wouldn't be me if t wasn't, eh? The next thing I post may not be another chapter. I've been thinking of branching out and writing multiple oneshots spanning fandoms other than PJO as I try to get back into the swing of things. My muse has been severely lacking lately._**

**_*out of the light is born the darkest shadow (rough translation) kudos to anyone who can tell me where these lyrics are from!_**


	4. Chapter 3

_**Okay. Hi**_

_**I've been gone a while, huh? I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up - I hope you guys haven't given up on me just yet. I've been focusing on an original works - specifically, using the freeware **__iicharacter_alpha __**and **__Novelty__**, a character generator and a visual novel engine, I have been working on a visual novel entitled 'Time Is Precious,' which incorporates themes of time travel, alternate universes, magic, friendship, a good old questing trio, and sacrifice. 'Ink,' a Final Fantasy XIII fic I recently posted, was originally a piece of original fic who's lore is set in the same verse as 'Time.' After the godly studio of Ufotable got me back into the Nasu-verse I became kind of obsessed in creating a visual novel series in which all things happen within the same universe with cameos and overlaps.**_

_**But enough of that, and onto the story. Fair warning, though - my writing style has changed since my last post, so the feel of this chapter and all to come may be different to what I already have up. And I don't know if you know this yet, but I am beginning the slow and painful process of carefully editing each chapter of Cursed Blood before uploading it to AO3 for your downloadable convenience.**_

_**Review replies will be at the bottom of the chapters from now on.**_

_[~`oxoXoxo`~]_

**Chapter Two: **_**Journey's Start**_

_It was all just too much._

_The sounds - the sights he could see through half open eyes - the scents he shouldn't be able to smell - they overwhelmed him, and he panicked._

_As he lunged upwards in instinct, going for the one that looked like him, that exuded the biggest sense of danger, the dark girl gave a sharp intake of breath but showed no other concern, while the light girl stiffened and shifted as if braced for either fight or flight._

_Another man stood next to the one who looked like him, but this man also pinged the least amount of _dangerthreatkillerdanger _on his radar, so he was ignored._

_Impact, as he bowled into the one who looked like him. Impact, as the one who looked lim him twisted and his back hit the floor. Impact, as suddenly they were flying through a cloud of shattering glass and they hit the ground outside._

_Impact, as the one who looked like him tackled him down once again and began to herd him in the direction of the woods he somehow smell were nearby._

_"Just so you know, you're paying for that." The dark girl's voice came from above, from the broken window; disgruntled._

_"Percy! Are you okay?" That was the light haired girls voice, and she seemed much more concerned then her counterpart._

_"I'm fine," answered the one who looked like him - Percy. "Don't know if I can say the same about him, though." Percy cast a wary glance at Triton directly beneath him, and he realised he was growling, snarling, threatening death and dismemberment in an animal language he didn't understand even as, simultaneously, he did._

_Percy's eyes flashed gold, and Triton's own burned and tightened in response._

_"You listen to me, brother." Percy's voice was low, halfway between a tone used to sooth a frightened animal backed into a corner, and a tone used to threaten even the most hardened of criminals into terror. "If you can't control yourself, I'll end you right here."_

[X]

[ONE WEEK LATER]

Percy shuddered as he woke, the cool air on his skin raising goosebumps.

For the past week, since the Triton issue had been dealt with and while Annabeth recovered, he had been sleeping inside the caravan they had repurposed from the band of - well, bandits - as he worked to make it as strong, versatile and defensible as he possibly could. By logic, and since they were taking rough back roads, he knew that they would only be able to get part of the way in a large wooden caravan, and after that it would be on horse, and then eventually on foot. However, his only other option had been to remain idle for a week, which did not appeal to him at all.

He blinked as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, and stared out the open door at the greylit world of predawn mist that awaited him.

"Well, would you look at that. Sleeping Beauty finally deigns to awaken."

"Reyna." Percy said in a sleep thickened voice by way of greeting. "What are you doing up?"

Reyna, still wrapped in a robe she no doubt slept in, sat herself down on the doorstep of the caravan. "A messenger came last night with news of Fenn. I figured you'd want to hear as soon as you woke up, so I came out here to wait for you."

Percy was instantly alert. Reyna had managed to build herself into Olympia's information network since opening the inn, and Percy had asked her to put her feelers out for any info on their pack. Granted, Percy, as alpha, could check in on each individuals wellbeing at any time, and he'd know automatically if one of his died, but he needed to know what the humans knew, needed to know what info they had so he could plan defenses and counter attacks.

"You're not going to like this," Reyna warned. "They managed to get the identity of a known wolf from Fenn. The reward the Capital is offering is astronomical. The manhunt is going to become almost as big as this ridiculous farce for Annabeth's hand."

Percy snorted in amusement at the reminder of one of the many obstacles they would have to face getting Annabeth Chase back home into her palace, even as his wolf growled in upset at the thought of another man marrying her. "So, who's the wolf?"

Reyna sighed. "Thalia."

[X]

Annabeth yawned, and the world slowly came into focus as she blinked.

It felt so _good_ to be able to raise both her arms fully and stretch until her joints popped. After a week of having her arm in a sling with Reyna's eyes constantly watching her, it was a literal blessing.

She quickly pushed the thick, quilted blankets off of her legs before swinging them down to touch the wooden floor of her room. She dressed hurriedly before shoving the rest of her belongings into a bag, knowing that Percy would want to be on the road before the true light of day rose above the horizon. She made sure to dress sensibly, too - no layered petticoats and silk outer skirts that would fall to her feet, but trousers she had borrowed from Reyna that were tan and fit closely on her legs, like a second skin, as well as an off white shirt made of rough cotton and a woolen jacket over it. With these clothes and her hair, she was almost unrecognisable even to herself.

That was a good thing, she said to herself as she made her way down the stairs and to the outside of the inn proper. It meant there was even less chance of her being recognised by the men who would no doubt be seeking her in hopes of claiming her father's 'reward.'

"Percy?" she called out.

"Over here, Wise Girl." She turned her head in the direction of his response, and two distinctly human shapes made themselves clear to her through the mist as she squinted.

"I'm ready to leave," Annabeth continued to speak as she made her way over to them.

"Great," Percy's face became clear to her suddenly as she stepped through the last curtain of mist that had been hiding him and Reyna from her sight. He wore a smile just as bright as ever, but a sort of sorrow or anxiety hovered about him. "We can leave just as soon as I've hooked the horses up."

Before Annabeth even had the chance to call out to him or ask him what was wrong, he had vanished through the mist.

Annabeth scowled.

Reyna laughed. "He's just concerned about his pack," she said. Her eyes grew darker and more serious as she turned to fully look at Annabeth. "Good luck," she told the princess solemnly as the sounds of nickering horses and softly clinking gear filled the air. "You're probably going to need it."

_[`~xXx~`]_

_**And chapter end. Now, reviews!**_

_**Eternally - no, Triton is most definitely NOT a happy camper right now (but really, is he ever, even in canon?). He wasn't there this chapter but I can assure you I have PLANS for him *evil laughter***_

_**the things that define you - Nico will play an important part. Though most of the story is focused solely on P+A, each character,or rather group of characters, is important and has their own part to play. However, don't expect to see much of a character before they find their 'group.'**_

_**Sarah (guest) - interesting theory, but no, Annabeth does not have a dormant wolf side. The Athenian royal family (as it is now, Lucian and Luna do not count as they were struck from the tree) has not a single drop of Lupi blood within them. **_

_**Artemis Jane - I reiterate *evil laughter***_

_**linglt14 - wow. thank you so much for such an incredible review! n.n**_

_**TO ALL OTHER REVIEWERS - thanks so much for your kind words! unfortunately, from now on, unless a question that is story related or a comment that is adressed to me personally, I won't be responding in person but rather in a general statement like this.**_

_**TO ALL THOSE WHO REVIEWED WITH 'UPDATE' OR SOME VARIATION THEREOF - I am fine with this if it is the closing sentence or a part of your review. however, if it is the only thing you have written...no. please don't. I'm not trying to be rude but I get really excited when I get review alerts and if I get three in a row with nothing but 'update pls' I get annoyed, and quite honestly it makes me not want to update as fast. **_

_**Anyway, its Easter break so I hope to get more chapters posted. I'll keep you guys up to date on my VN so when it is ready you can be among the first to download and play through it n.n**_

_**So review! Tell me what you thought of this chapter. Has my voice changed too much? Was the pacing strange? Theories for the future? And what the hell happened to Triton, anyway?**_

_**Tune in next time to find out!**_

_**[PRAISE UFOTABLE]**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**First and foremost, a very happy Easter to all of you!**_

_**Secondly - I am aware that this is probably the fastest I've updated anything in a while. For the next two weeks, you see, I am off school, and I hope to get a few chapters out before another, inevitable, radio silence on my behalf. However, none of my stories will ever be abandoned. Even if it takes me years to get through even one (and God, I hope not) I WILL see them all through till the end.**_

_**No review replies today, but I am glad you liked the last chapter. A few of you brought up the fact that my chapters recently seem to be on the shortish side, and you all would be right. I don't set myself a limit for each chapter, I just write until what seems like the natural cutoff point. Hopefully I'll get back into the buisness of longer chapters soon.**_

_**And if any of you could tell me what you think of my visual novel idea, and would like to help me flesh it out, or criticise my character and background designs, or even my taste in BGM, could you please tell me? I'm working on this entirely alone so my opinion is a bit biased.**_

_**Onto the story, and [PRAISE UFOTABLE]**_

[`~oxoXoxo~`]

_"If I was a bluebird, I'd whistle and sing,  
And follow the vessel my true love sailed in;  
And up on the rigging I would build my nest,  
And I'd sleep the long night on his lily white breast."_

_"That was beautiful."_

_Sally jumped as a voice came from behind her, Percy jolting suddenly in her arms but remaining, thankfully, asleep. "Ah, thank you," she said as she turned to face the man who had spoken. "It was a lullaby my mother used to sing to me."_

_The man smiled, and Sally could sense the wolf within him. "From what pack do you hail?" He asked of her. "I do not recognise you from any of the neighbouring territories._

_Sally considered lying for a split second - but then the truth came out. "I have no pack," she spoke truthfully, "except for my son. I was told this was an area of neutral ground between two pack territories. I apologize for my trespass if I was misinformed."_

_The man waved away her troubles like they were nothing. "I could sense you from the beyond the borders and grew curious. It is I who should be apologising." He paused for a moment and considered her. "There are some unscrupulous alpha's around these parts that would not hesitate to claim a strong female and her son for their own pack, even against their will. And the Damnatorum are always roaming through neutral grounds. It would be safer, I would presume, to travel back with me to Fenn."_

_Sally had opened her mouth to refuse - but paused. "Fenn?" she asked. She knew that name - of course she knew that name, every lupi that had been raised on the side of light knew that name, it was the hub, the safe haven, of her kind. But the pack that claimed it as part of their territory was incredibly possessive and not all that welcoming. And this man - he was just inviting her to the town?_

_"I'd love to come with you," she said on impulse. "I am Sally, and this is my son, Percy."_

_The man smiled - it was a truly brilliant smile, like she had just made his whole day by agreeing to go with him. "Paul," he said._

[X]

Reyna sighed as she leant even further over the counter in an attempt to ease and relax her straining, aching back.

That was one thing Percy had been good for over the past week - hard labour.

She snorted as the thought crossed her mind. Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arrelano loved her brother, even though he was an idiot, there was no doubt about that. Just as she loved her adoptive parents within Fenn and the friends she had made within the pack. But she had left all those years ago for a reason, and Percy being here had just brought it all back.

Reyna was human - completely and one hundred percent. As she neither had a wolf side nor was mated to any wolf of the Fenn pack, she herself had not been considered a _part_ of the pack. She was loved, yes, protected and trained, yes; and the vast majority of those within Fenn treated her as one of their own, as if she did have a pack-bond.

It had been so overbearing. It had been why she had to leave.

And Percy's...visitation, had just confirmed that for her all the more. He was now alpha, and as such had treated Reyna over the past week as both his _sister_, his _packmate_, and his _human_, all of which translated to _protect and order_. Lupi, for all that they weren't the monsters most thought them to be, were most definitely not human and did not always think in what humans would consider a normal thought pattern. As far as Percy saw it, when Reyna had left Fenn for the end of the range, she had left for her own good, which was also _the good of the pack_, because Reyna _was_ pack. Which meant that when Percy had turned up here, some part of him considered her inn _his_ territory, the last piece of whole Fenn territory that had not been razed to the ground.

And that meant soon, over lupi who had managed to escape Fenn would be turning up soon, looking at her inn for shelter, looking to her, their alpha's sister, even if she was only just a human, for guidance.

She sighed once again. "Damnit, Percy," she hissed under her breath. "You're lucky I love you."

She would have to close down her inn - make excuses to her patrons that wouldn't raise suspicion before herding them off her land. If her inn was to become the center of Fenn's new territory, she would need all humans not in the know gone.

She would need help.

A deep trepidation grew within her.

Oh, dear Luna, she would need Hylla.

[X]

Annabeth exited the caravan and hopped down to the bracken strewn ground of the path.

The trees had thickened, and the path had thus narrowed, so now, after almost a full days worth of travel, they would have to abandon the caravan. Already Percy was loading supplies onto the the horses and hooking them up with what was necessary for riding rather than towing a carriage. He smiled at Annabeth as she rounded the caravan to approach him.

"Hey," he said as he turned back to his work. "I'll be done soon, and then we can head straight off."

Annabeth held back a frown as she tilted her head back, towards the sky. After examining it thouroughly, she did frown, and looked at Percy askance.

He wasn't staring back at her, or even in her direction, but he seemed to sense her attention on him because his shoulders and the muscles in his back that she could see through the faded blue material of his denim shirt tensed. "What?" he asked, and she almost cracked a grin at how petulant he sounded. "Is my saddling of the horses not up to your royal standards?"

At that, she did let out a soft laugh. "Considering you were raised in Fenn, a town considered the horse capital of Olympia, I'm fairly certain you know more about saddling them up then I ever could." Percy's shoulders had tensed even further and from her side-on position she could see how he was clenching his jaw.

Annabeth could almost hit herself for her lack of tact. What on earth had possessed her to bring up Fenn? "Anyway," she cleared her throat in the silence that had suddenly become awkward. "That is not what I was thinking. I was thinking that the sun is going down."

Percy glanced at her over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed in what she could now tell was his own particular brand of confusion. "So?"

She stared at him in disbelief. "So, once it becomes dark it will be far too dangerous to be galloping on horses through these dense and thick woods?" she said.

But Percy was already shaking his head at her. "Should've pulled a map out at Reyna's," he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to pick it up. Out loud he opted for, "right now, we're in neutral lupi territory - between each pack's land there are small areas of no-mans-land that act as a control - that are considered the property of no pack or wolf. Without them, there would probably be a lot more border skirmishes."

Annabeth blinked at this information. "How does this relate to us being within this...'no-mans-land'?"

"Dark wolves have no actual packs or accepted territory. Instead, they haunt neutral territories as their home ground as they invade pack land. And rouges, or rabids, they get banished from the pack they are born in and banned from entering the territory of any established pack. Neutral territory sounds all well and good in theory, but in practice its a den of shadows. Pack lupi know to avoid unless necessary. Stopping here for the night would be far too dangerous."

As Annabeth tried to think up a response to that, spine chilling howls rose up in the distance and the coming night seemed all the more frightening.

Percy's face was grim as he gave one last tug to the belt on the saddle he was adjusting, before hoisting Annabeth up onto it and then swinging himself onto the saddle of his own horse. "We've been tracked," he said in a dark tone. "Tamsin or Luke probably put out a search for us among all Damnatorum - my bet is Tamsin. She's always had an uncanny sense of being able to predict where I was going to be next."

Tamsin - the auburn haired dark wolf from the terrifying night Annabeth would always remember as the razing of Fenn. She was probably the most horrifying opponent the princess had ever faced - not the strongest, not the smartest, definitely not the most dangerous - but terrifying in the sense of sadistic maliciousness she radiated. Annabeth was neither scared nor ashamed to admit that the thought of facing that inhuman monstrosity again was something she prayed would never happen. And there was obviously some history between her and Percy, or maybe even the entire Fenn pack - but Annabeth's nickname was Wise Girl for a reason, and there was no way she was going to deliberately pull the pin on _that_ grenade.

"We need to leave, and fast," Percy continued, not noticing her distraction. "There's a chance that they'll leave us be once we cross into established pack territory, but if Tamsin _is_ the one pushing them, its a slim one - she's far more terrifying than the thought of facing light wolves in combat. And even if they don't chase us any further once we've crossed over the border, I'll be an alpha intruding without permission on another's land. It'll be seen as a challenge if we're caught, and I'll have to fight that alpha." He grimaced. "To the death."

There was something in that facial expression he just made that drew Annabeth's attention like a moth to flame, even as the horses moved so fast through the fast approaching dark that it was almost as if they flew.

"What's the alpha's name?" She called out.

"Zoe Nightshade," Percy called back. "The only female lupi on the continent to hold the position of alpha, rather than Luna."

Annabeth considered. "That doesn't sound too bad," she said.

"It wouldn't be," Percy agreed, "if not for one thing."

"And that is?"

"She hates men," he grimaced once again as he urged his horse to go even faster, "especially me."

[X]

_"Oh, come one, guys, it was just a little joke!"_

_The guards dragging him by the arms into the overnight lockup cells of small time offenders - 'Athens cheapest rooms, and for a reason,' was what people on the street called them lately. Since the princess had gone missing in the aftermath of the Fenn fire, the uptight royals had gotten even more so, and streetside pranks that the guards used to tolerate or even smile at with good humour were now 'misdemeanours' and those who performed them 'had to be punished.'_

_"Please," said a beautiful, incredible, amazing voice from a girl who was all those things sitting in the cell adjacent from the one the guards were in the process of throwing him into. "Be quiet. This night will be painful enough without your presence."_

_Snarky, gorgeous, arrogant and obviously out of his league? This girl was _so_ his type - maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all, with such great company._

_"Calypso," the guard sighed. "Talking to other prisoners is prohibited."_

_Calypso - and wow, what a great name - 'hmmphed.'_

_After the guard left, he grinned at her. "Hey," he said. "Leo Valdez, at your service."_

_[`~xoxXxox~`]_

_**And a longer chapter this time around! (I think) Hopefully, it's a more exciting chapter too! (I know I had a lot of fun writing it. In fact, even though the cutoff for the story was at the place I stopped it, I had other ideas, and I wanted to write MORE - so maybe I'll be back again tomorrow with yet another chapter! n.n)**_

_**I've been waiting for Leo and Zoe for a while. And Hylla, too! Have you guys? What did you think of this chapter?**_

_**My basic theory for Lupi territories is that there are three 'major' territories in Olympia, within those territories there is the 'main' pack, splinter cells scattered throughout the territory, and then there are the border cells, which guard the border from intruders, either from neutral territory or other packs. Within the main pack, smaller packs can be formed, each with their own 'alpha' but they still answer to the head of the main pack. This way it is sort of like a parliament and monarch, with the parliament acting like a council and the monarch being the absolute power, though they CAN be challenged.**_

_**Neutral territory is sort of like saying, 'not my problem.' If a pack has a problem, they shove it into neutral territory. If from there, it invades another established pack territory, the original pack can say 'not my problem,' and leave the invaded pack to deal with it. Basically.**_

_**And finally, I am considering a name change. I am hesitant as I feel JosephineSilver makes up a big part of who I am in this persona, on this site, but at the same time, after the plagerism and the long hiatus', I am considering one seriously. On AO3, my handle would remain 'JosephineSilver,' But I'm thinking of changing it on at least this site, to 'Sealing Designee Josephine,' as my TYPE-MOON and Nasuverse fangirl tendencies have recently been reawoken. Opinions?**_

_**See y'all next chappie. Stay cool and stay sweet! n.n**_


	6. Chapter 6

Piper Mclean stared disbelievingly at the Lupi gathered around her. "I honestly can't believe this," she said "Are you _all_ sociophobic?"

Katie, whom had been shifting nervously in place for about ten minutes, ever since they had hit the borders of the Mclean family's lands, and refusing to move, spoke up in a shaky voice. "What's that the phobia of?" A nervous laugh. "It sounds like the phobia of sociopaths, and last I checked, that's a smart fear."

Piper sighed, and sent a look in the direction of Thalia, fully healed and dressed in men's clothing. The Fenn Luna frowned mutinously at her. By her side, _the_ Luna stood serenely, looking vaguely bemused by the spectacle in front of her.

"It's the fear of socialising," she answered. "Of large gatherings of people."

"That's also a smart fear," Thalia pointed out, as Katie nodded her head frantically in agreement. "Large groups of people? You're guaranteed that at least one of them is carrying silver."

"Well, yes, but - " Piper spluttered, throwing her hands into the air. _I give up_. "I come from a family of _sympathisers_."

"But you went _missing_ in Fenn." Thalia's electric blue eyes were focused, hard and cold as ice. "Along with the crown princess. There'll be guards, if not knights or unlanded nobility there, I can assure you. And now, I'm..." she trailed off, as Katie's face darkened and Piper winced.

It had only been a day or so ago that the news had been announced, if that. But the entire world now knew that Thalia Grace was Lupi. The incident in the town of Fenn _could_ have been written off as a freak accident - but with Annabeth gone and the town burned, townspeople _fled_ \- it was clearly seen as the mark of a guilty party.

And now, Thalia had a bounty on her head.

It was then that Luna chose to speak. "Piper Mclean," she said quietly. "You've have been of great help these past weeks. And as promised, we have returned you to your family." Steel flashed through those golden yellow eyes. "But this far, and no further, will we go. You journey the rest of the way yourself." A smile that showed the slightest hint of sharpened fang. "You will be safe, I assure you."

"You do know the way back to your manor, right?" Thalia raised an eyebrow at her.

Shakily, Piper nodded. "Of course," she said. "But where will you _go?"_

Katie looked down, and Thalia's expression tightened. "For now?" She said. "We'll have to scout an area safe enough to settle in."

There was quiet for a moment, as they all thought of the rather large elephant in the room without wishing to truly acknowledge it.

"There may not be one," Piper said solemnly. "You know that, don't you?"

Thalia opened her mouth to speak, but Luna beat her to it, inclining her head in agreement, dark hair falling into her face. "True," she mused. "But there are always other lands. Atlantis, of course - and also Celestra, where I was raised. The Olympian Isles are not the entirety of the world, Piper Mclean."

It was Piper's name she said, but her eyes were fixated on Thalia, who clearly could sense the elder Lupi's gaze - attention - settle on her. "I - yeah," Thalia spoke quietly. "Yeah."

"Well." Piper swallowed. "I guess it's time for me to leave, then."

Katie's gaze jerked up, and Piper was surprised to see how genuinely mournful the Lupi girl was.

"Just so you know," Thalia said. "Mclean - I'm not going to miss you at all."

Piper couldn't help it - she cracked a grin. It was large, and showed more teeth than was ladylike, but was one hundred percent fully genuine. "Sure, Thalia," she said. "You tell yourself whatever you need to get to sleep at night."

It wasn't until near on twenty minutes later, the three wolven girls far behind Piper and the manor - home - just as equally far away - that Piper admitted it to herself.

She would miss them.

But most of all, she thought, as she started crying despite herself, she would _mourn_ the freedom that she had enjoyed these past weeks, locked back up inside her room like a porcelain doll.

After all, even plated with gold and diamonds, furnished with velvet and silk - a cage was still a cage.

[X]

The sun was nice today, Leo noted. Warm. Bright. Fiery.

Okay, it was the sun. The normal, as-it-is-everyday, sun. Just the sun!

But it was _the sun_. As in, he could see it, was aboveground, was free!

If it wasn't for the tense mood that had overtaken the capital of late, he probably would have done something appropriately dramatic for his re-arrival back in the land of the free - but the guards were obviously not in the mood and he felt no desire to be thrown back in the lock-up.

Except...

He frowned. "Hey, that girl," he addressed the guard escorting him up the steep, narrow staircase that led out of what were, essentially, some really nice dungeons (hey - they were spacious, clean, and he'd actually gotten fed last night, even if it was just a gruel that made his stomach turn - on the run, he'd been in worse. _Much_ worse). "Aren't you going to let her out?"

"Huh?" The guard grunted a question, following the motion of Leo's chin. "Oh. Her? Nah, Calypso's a special case."

"A special case?" Leo asked, turning to glance at her again over his shoulder as the guard prodded impatiently at him with the blunt hilt of his sword. "I thought this was the overnight lock-up."

A derisive laugh floated up from below - Calypso. "This is the _nicest_ lock-up." Her voice, for all it's melodic tones, was the opposite of sweet; it was pure, burning venom. "I'm too important for the _real_ dungeons, under the palace."

"Calypso," The guards voice was a growled warning. "_Hold your tongue_."

"Wait." Leo frowned. "No last name - you're Atlantian?"

As the guard, apparently fully sick of Leo's existence, literally grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and hoisted him up before bodily _throwing_ him up and out of the staircase, Calypso burst into peals of full, genuine, from-the-belly laughter.

It was a sound like bells.

[X]

Percy sighed, eyeing the sun's relatively high position in the sky with great suspicion.

"This," he declared out loud, "is too good to be true."

Beside him, _her_ horse (he'd started calling it Brandy) snorted in unison with it's rider. "And that," Annabeth murmured, "is _jinxing it_."

"Oh ye of little faith," Percy sighed. "There's no such thing as jinxing it. If it was jinxed, it was from the beginning and believing otherwise is false security."

Behind him, though he didn't see it, Annabeth blinked before frowning slightly, and with a soft nudge of her feet to the sides of the horse she rode, she pulled forward so she was trotting directly next to him. "You're a real cynic, aren't you?" She leant towards him as she asked this, relishing slightly in the red that blossomed over his cheeks as her presence, for some reason, set off alarms in his mind.

It was cute.

"I'm _not_ a cynic!" Percy protested. "I'm a realist, there's a difference. Nothing wrong in hoping for the best but preparing for the worst."

"And in being suspicious when things seem to be going your way?"

He nodded sagely. "_Especially_ then."

Annabeth sighed. "I repeat: cynic."

Percy frowned, but didn't protest. "Agree to disagree?" he suggested.

Annabeth inclined her head in agreement.

It was almost - no, it _definitely_ was - startling how easy it was to talk to Percy, to exchange banter with him like this, considering just _who_ and _what_ he was - Lupi, and an alpha as well.

(And that wasn't even considering the revelation of the whole bastard prince of Atlantis thing - though Percy had seemed to simply take it all in stride, Annabeth was still processing it. Delphin had nearly had an apoplectic fit, and Percy had been at a loss as to how to explain his heritage. "I just always thought Paul was my dad," he'd said easily. "So, it was really this Poseidon guy?"

At Percy's casual referral to his King, Delphin had proceeded to swell with righteous indignation, and probably would have blown up on Percy spectacularly if not for Reyna's timely interruption, reminding them of Titon's predicament.

And yes - that made Annabeth extremely nervous. Though she now knew that Lupi were not simply the base monsters they appeared to be - a kingdom where the heir and one who may have to be legitimized as spare were _both_ Lupi? It was a harrowing thought.)

He almost, at times, seemed entirely human, and Annabeth would, almost, forget herself. But then he would do something - growl, maybe; move in a way too sinuous, too fast, to be fully human; or maybe his eyes would catch the moonlight and flash, gold in green - and she would be reminded of an all too horrible truth.

He wasn't human. Had never been human, and...would never be human. Unless, of course, she broke the curse, in which case he would likely kill her. And the fact of this _not human_ existence was that he couldn't, truly, understand. Not the fear that pounded through her like a drum of war, in rhythm with her own heart, whenever he did something _too_ supernatural for Annabeth's own comfort. Not the anger and pain and grief at the losses her people had suffered.

Not the wounded indecision mixed with a falteringly cold calculation that came each night they set up camp to rest, as she stared at the planed silver of her blade and thought, _I could kill him right now_.

And she could. It would be _easy_. Percy, for some reason, had let his guard down around her significantly since their encounter with Peter Redmark and his band of - well, bandits - perhaps because a battlefield could and did make strange bedfellows, so to speak. The scent of silver, normally a sign to Lupi to run or fight, was constantly on Annabeth, so he wouldn't react to it if she came closer with her dagger drawn bare.

Just one simple stab. She could do it. She _could_.

But she wouldn't.

(_Jason_, her mind would whisper, bringing forth an image of the smiling blond Guardian - of his dedication to the people of Olympia, the way he blushed and skirted flirtations with Piper, of how Percy's teeth tore brutally into his shoulder, injuring but not killing, damning him to a life he had never wanted -

\- of how Percy had called Jason to his aid, and then abandoned him to Tamsin's probably non-existent mercy, as if _his life didn't matter._)

"Annabeth?" Percy's voice broke into her thoughts, and she blinked back into reality, staring back at his questioning gaze. "Are you okay? You've been quiet for a while."

"Uh," she cleared her throat, shaking her head free - hopefully - of morbid thoughts. "Why is this too good to be true, anyway?"

A crease formed between Percy's eyebrows, as if he could tell she was lying, quite blatantly - and he probably could, _Lupi_ \- but instead of questioning her further, he simply accepted her at her word, for which she was grateful.

"There's been...no sign," he spoke hesitantly. "Not of Zoe, or any of her wolves. I'm..." He frowned. "I don't want to say _concerned,_ more like...unsettled? We should've seen someone by now."

"What does it mean?" Annabeth asked, tightening her grip on her reins as one hand slid to brush against the hilt of her dagger, cinched to her thigh. "That we haven't had an encounter yet, I mean."

If possible, Percy's frown deepened, and when he spoke, his tone was dark. "Nothing good," he said grimly and kicked the horse he rode - which he had taken to calling Blackjack - into a gallop.

[X]

"Tamsin?" Lucian's voice echoed, as if filtering through water, distorted and far. "Tam?"

_"Tamsin-"_ With a gasp, Tamsin Rinaldi catapulted into a sitting position, the world sharpening around her, senses activating as if a filter of dust, or a web, had started to break down around her.

Lucian, she noted, was sitting - kneeling - by her side, his gaze filled with relief. "Tam," he sighed. "You're okay."

She blinked hazily at him. "I wasn't?" She asked, bemused.

Lucian's gaze went dark, his grip on her arms tightening to the point of being painful. "I'm not one hundred percent sure," he said tightly, voice frighteningly controlled, "but I think that Delphi is...rejecting you."

The world _stilled_.

"What?" her voice was hushed. "How? Did your sister-"

Lucian growled, and Tamsin caught herself. "No," he insisted. "Luna wouldn't do this, she values honour, keeps her word. She _gave_ Delphi to us - this is due to outside interference."

"Who's?" she hissed, eyes flashing a baleful green.

"Tell me, my Oracle," Lucian whispered, raising his hands to, ever so gently, cup Tamsin's face. "Does the girl known as Rachel Elizabeth Dare live?"

[X]

Leagues away, Nico di Angelo stumbled as the backlash of a summons pain filled him.

_Red?_ he thought questioningly.

_I'm...fine,_ the voice that responded through the mental link was strained, as if tired. _Delphi...doesn't really want...to co-operate with a dead girl. _At the end of the message, a vague impression of a grin.

_Delphi belongs to the dark, now_, Nico readily admitted. _And Tamsin Rinaldi _does _possess strong Sight. They've bonded disturbingly well. But, with your past link to Delphi, and it's violent severance..._

_...we can exploit loopholes, _Red's voice was grim. _I know, Nico. I'll play my part._

_Good, _he answered, before severing the link.

"After all," he whispered aloud - to himself, to the gods, to Bianca, if she happened to be listening - "We need all the help we can get."

[||||||||||_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_||||||||||]

_Hey, Jose, guess what?_

_It's been almost a _year_ since you've updated._

_Yep. Whoops, and also sorry._

_I make no guarantees on the next update - but, as always, this story is _not_ abandoned, this story will _never_ be abandoned, if you are reading one of my fics, it will _always, eventually, be finished. **That is my promise to you.**

_I've had people ask me, why keep multiple fics running? Why not just focus on one?_

_Because that's not how the bunnies work. When I come up with an idea, I _have_ to write it. If I try to force myself to focus on an idea, the bunnies don't like it, and it kills my inspiration._

_Completely._

_Also, being real with you guys - I hated Blood of Olympus. I still do, and with a passion. It made me bitter, and salty, and put me off of PJO/HoO for...quite a while. If I'd tried to write for Cursed Heart - or any of my PJO fics back then, while in that headspace - they would've become spite fics._

_I've read fics where the authors talk about spite being their motivator and inspiration. If that works for them, great. _However, I refuse to associate such poisonous feelings with my writing, be it original or fic._ Writing is my escape, and if I brought my all too real bitterness with life into it, it'd never end. Negative emotions all round._

_Anyway, hoping (but not promising) to see you guys again soon with another chapter. Thank you for all your reviews and continued support._

_I love you guys._


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